1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a potable terminal having a function for sending and receiving e-mail, and in particular, to a potable terminal that can display e-mail with an image attached thereto together with the attached image in an easy-to-see manner, and hence improve its usability.
2. Description of the Related Art
One method for attaching image data to e-mail on the Internet is such that image data, typically of a binary file, is converted into a text in a format such as Base 64 or Uuencode to send out the same immediately preceded by the e-mail text. Then, when the e-mail is received at a computer or portable terminal, an electronic mail application automatically detects the attached file part immediately preceded by the e-mail text to return the file to its original state and store the same.
There are various ways to display the e-mail text and the attached image received, depending upon the type of e-mail terminal used. In this case, if the display area of the terminal is too small, the e-mail text and the attached image may not be displayed at the same time.
For example, a personal computer or portable terminal such as PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) the display area of which is relatively large can display the attached image in an area adjacent to the display area of the e-mail text. Even if the image is too large to be displayed on the screen, it can scroll around the image alone or the image plus the e-mail text to obtain such high viewability as to withstand some degree of usage.
One prior art related to a display of image information such as e-mail is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-191836 entitled Communication Apparatus and its Control Method. (Applicant: Canon, Inventors: Hideo Shibaoka et al.) published on Jul. 13, 1999.
This prior art discloses a communication apparatus and its control method designed to store a received or photographed image in association with prestored information on the communication partner and the like, and to edit and display the communication partner information and the image on one screen. This makes it possible to refer to the image and the communication partner information at the same time, and hence easy to retrieve any image.
However, when e-mail with image data attached thereto is to be displayed on a terminal the display area of which is too small like a portable telephone, another method for displaying the same is employed. In this method, the attached image is displayed below the e-mail text. Then, a screen scroll function to scroll around the attached image is so used that the full-length image will be displayed step by step, thus browsing the e-mail text and the attached image continuously in this order.
However, it is almost impossible for the above-mentioned conventional portable terminal, especially the one with a small display area, to provide a concurrent display of the e-mail text and the attached image, which results in inconvenience for the user because he or she cannot check the e-mail containing the attached image at a glance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal that can display an e-mail text by overlapping the same upon an attached image, and hence improve its usability as an e-mail receiving terminal.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal including: a receiver for receiving image data and character data transmitted in association with each other; an input unit for inputting instructions; a control unit for generating display data from the image data and the character data; and a display unit for displaying the display data. The portable terminal features that the control unit generates the display data in such a manner that the associated character data are overlapped upon and displayed against the image data as the background. This makes it possible to display the received image and character data on one screen in an easy-to-see manner, and hence improve its usability.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned portable terminal is such that the character data represent an e-mail text and the image data represent an image attached to the e-mail. This makes it possible to display the character data of the e-mail with the image data attached thereto together with the image data on one screen in an easy-to-see manner, and hence improve its usability.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned portable terminal is such that the control unit converts the received image data into image data of a size corresponding to the display area of the display unit to generate the display data. Therefore, even if the display area is smaller than the size of the received image data, the received image and character data can be displayed on one screen in an easy-to-see manner, thus improving its usability.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned portable terminal is such that the control unit processes the received image data to correct either or both of the brightness and contrast thereof to generate the display. Therefore, when the character data are overlapped upon and displayed against the background of the received image data, the image data are made inconspicuous, thereby displaying the character data in an easy-to-see manner even in such bad condition that the characters are overlapped upon the image.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned portable terminal is such that the control unit sets display color of the received character data according to the chromaticity of the image data to generate the display data. Therefore, when the character data are overlapped upon and displayed against the background of the received image data, the image data are made inconspicuous, thereby displaying the character data in an easy-to-see manner even in such bad condition that the characters are overlapped upon the image.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned portable terminal is such that, when two or more kinds of image data are received, the control unit changes the image data to be displayed as the background in accordance with instructions from the input unit. This makes it easy to change the image data to be displayed as the background, thus improving its usability.